Safety pressure cap with safety release mechanism



SePt- 8, 1954 f D. FRIEND 3,147,881

lSF'E'IY PRESSURE 'CAP WITH SAFETY RELEASE MECHANISM origina; Filed'July 5. 1960 INVENTOR.

lo DAwsoN Fmr-.ND

United States Patent 3,147,881 SAFETY PRESSURE CAP WITH SAFETY RELEASE MECHANISM Dawson Friend, Connersville, Ind., assignor to Stant Manufacturing Company, Inc., Connersville, Ind., a corporation of Indiana Original application .luly 5, 1960, Ser. No. 40,724, now Patent No. 3,082,905, dated Mar. 26, 1963. Divided and this application July 18, 1962, Ser. No. 210,802

8 Claims. (Cl. 220-44) The present invention relates to a safety pressure cap for automobile radiators, and is particularly concerned with an improved means for safely releasing pressure within the cooling system; and this is a division of my copending application Serial Number 40,724 led July 5, 1960, now Patent No. 3,082,905.

Many present day automobiles are equipped with cooling systems which are designed to operate under superatmospheric pressure and at temperatures above the atmospheric boiling point. The filler neck closure cap in such a system carries a valve which is resiliently held against a seat within the filler neck to maintain the design pressure; and if ythe cap is quickly removed from the liller neck at a time when the engine has been in operation for an appreciable period, the sudden release of the pressure within the cooling system frequently causes` steam and water to spew from the filler neck, drenching and scalding the individual who has so removed the cap'. While the retainer means for such caps are usually designed to provide an intermediate dwell position which is intended t0 inhibit such quick removal, the dwell position can be easily overcome, and the fact is that accidents'of the character above described are not at all unusual.

Various expedients have been proposed for relieving the cooling system pressure before starting removal of the cap, and some of those expedients have been tried commercially; but, so far as I am advised, no one of them has met with any substantial degree of success since, for one reason or another, they have all been relatively ineffective to protect the careless or uninformed motorist or service station attendant.

The primary object of the present invention, then, is to provide improved means for effectively relieving the pressure within such a cooling system before starting removal of the closure cap.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of the character described which shall include operating means of such .character as to be ostentatiously visible to anyone approaching the cap, whereby his attention will be called to the presence of such pressure relieving means and he will be reminded to avail himself of the safety feature which has been provided.

A further object of the invention is to provide means of the character described which, through a quick and simple manipulation, while the closure cap remains in fully seated position, will lift the pressure valve affirmatively and bodily olf its seat within the filler neck to establish open and unrestricted communication between the interior of the cooling system and the conventional overflow vent which is present in all such filler necks.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of the character described in which the most convenient means for manipulating the ycap is, itself, the actuator for the pressure-release means.

Still further objects of the invention will appear as the description proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the above and related ohjects, my invention may be embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings, attention being called to the fact, however, that the drawings are illustrative only, and that change may be made in the specific ICC construction illustrated and described, so long as the scope of the appended claims is not violated.

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a vertical section taken substantially on the line 2-2 of FIG, l and illustrating the parts in normal operating condition; and

FIG. 3 is a section similar to FIG. 2 but showing the parts in pressure-relieving positions.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, it will be seen that I have illustrated a conventional filler neck indicated generally by the reference numeral 10 and formed to provide an upper or diaphragm seat 11, a peripheral lip 12 with cammed lower edges, an extension 13 c0- operatively associated with the conventional radiator tank (not shown) of an automobile cooling system, and a pressure valve seat 14. In accordance with conventional practice, the filler neck 10 is provided with an overflow vent 15 with which is connected an overflow conduit 16, the vent being positioned between the seats 14 and 11.

My safety pressure cap is indicated generally by the reference numeral 67 and comprises a cap body 68 carrying a diaphragm 69 and a valve assembly 70 including a gasket 71 adapted to be sealingly engaged with the pressure seat 14 within the filler neck 10. The gasket 71 is carried by a pan 72 having an inturned collar ilange 73 loosely sleeved on a dome-shaped support bell '74, said bell having an outturned flange 75 engageable by the collar flange 73 to limit movement of the valve assembly away from the cap body 68. Within the pan 72 is reciprocably mounted a vacuum relief valve 76 cooperatively engageable with a seat 77 formed within said pan.

The support 74 reciprocably penetrates a central aperture 78 in the cap body 68 and is supported by a rivet 79 penetrating an aperture 80 within the length of a lever which, in the illustrated form of the invention, constitutes a leaf spring 81 one end of which is anchored, as by means of the rivet 82, to the cap body 68. Said spring 81 extends transaxially relative to the cap body and its other end is downturned as at 83 to extend through a slot 84 at a point in the cap body remote from the anchoragel point 82. It will be perceived that, alternatively, the leaf spring 81 might be replaced by a hinged lever.

An actuator lever 85 is formed to provide a central, depressed hub section 86 which is concentric with the support 74, said lever being formed to provide oppositely extending arms 88 and 89 projecting beyond the periphery of the cap body 68. A cam 90 having a base 92 which is spot welded to the hub section of the lever 85, is formed to provide a cam surface the low end 91 of which is proportioned and arranged to engage beneath the spring 81 when the end 83 of said spring is in its lowermost position. Preferably, a sealing gasket 93 is sleeved on the support 74 between the cap body and the lever hub 86.

A spring 94 is confined between the diaphragm 69 and a shoulder on the pan 72, resiliently to resist movement of the valve assembly 70 toward the cap body 68.

The cap body is provided with the conventional retainer fingers 95 engageable with the cammed edge of the ller neck skirt 12 so that, when the cap 67 is in its fully seated position, the diaphragm 69 will sealingly engage the seat 1l and the gasket 71 will sealingly engage the seat 14, the valve assembly 70 being slightly lifted so that the collar flange 73 is out of engagement with the bell ange 75. If, now, the lever 85 is turned in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 1, the low end 91 of the cam 90 will move beneath the spring 81 and, as such movement of the lever continues, the inclined surface of the cam 90 will raise the distal end of the leaf spring 81, whereby the bell support 74 will be lifted to the position of FIG. 3 in which, it will be seen, the bell flange 75 has engagedand entrained the collar ange 73 to lift the gasket 7l. off its seat i4, against the tendency of the spring 94, to open the interior of the cooling system to the vent port 1S.

Once the pressure within the system has been relieved, the cap may be safely removed from the filler neck. In this form of the invention, the cap body 63 preferably will not be provided with radially extending ears which are usually found on conventional radiator caps. Thus, the lever 85 appears, to anyone about to remove the cap, to the most convenient means for grasping the cap; and almost inevitably the first step which he will take toward removal of the cap is to turn the lever S in a counter-clockwise direction, thus lifting the gasket 71 off its seat 14 without moving the cap body.

The parts are so proportioned and designed that the edge 97 of the lever arm 88 will come into engagement with the depending end portion 98 of the spring S1 and the edge 99 of the lever arm 89 will come into engagement with the depending portion 83 of the spring when the high portion of the cam 90 is beneath the distal portion of the spring 81 as shown in FIG. 3. Thus, a further exertion of force upon the lever 85 in a counter-clockwise direction will rotate the cap body 68 in a counter-clockwise direction to disengage the retainer fingers 95 from the lip 12 of the filler neck.

In replacing the cap, force will again be applied to the lever 85, this time in a clockwise direction. The cap may move with the lever until resistance to clockwise movement of the cap exceeds the effect of friction between the lever and the cap, whereafter the lever will move in a clockwise direction relative to the cap until the end 100 of the cam 90 engages the edge 101 of the spring 81, Whereafter the cap will again be entrained with the lever to be moved to fully-seated position.

I claim as my invention:

1. A safety pressure cap comprising a cap body, support means centrally penetrating said cap body for limited axial reciprocation relative thereto, said support means terminating at its inner end in an out-turned flange, an element reciprocably externally sleeved on said support means for reciprocation relative thereto toward and away from said cap body and having a portion disposed between said cap body and said flange and engageable with said flange to limit movement of said element relative to said support means away from said cap body, a coiled spring confined between said element and said cap body and resisting movement of said element toward said cap body, a pressure valve carried by said element and facing away from said cap body, axially rotatable cam means mounted on the outer surface of said cap body and operatively connected with said support means to shift said support means toward said cap body upon rotation of said cam means thereby lifting said element and said pressure valve toward said cap body.

2. A safety pressure cap comprising a cap body, support means centrally mounted in said cap body for limited axial reciprocation relative thereto, pressure valve means supported from the inner end of said support means, spring means resisting movement of said pressure valve means toward said cap body, lever means anchored at one end on said cap body, transaxially disposed adjacent the outer surface of said cap body and operatively connected to said support means, and cam means shiftably supported from said cap body for relatively movable interposition between said lever means and said cap body outer surface to shift the distal end of said lever means away from said cap body thereby lifting said valve means toward said cap body against the tendency of said spring means.

3. A safety pressure cap comprising a cap body, support means centrally penetrating said cap body for limited axial reciprocation relative thereto, said support means terminating at its inner end in an out-turned ange, an element reciprocably externally sleeved on said support means for reciprocation relative thereto toward and away from said cap body and having a portion disposed between said cap body and said flange and engageable with said flange to limit movement of said element relative to said support means away from said cap body, a coiled spring confined between said element and said cap body and resisting movement of said element toward said cap body, a pressure valve carried by said element and facing away from said cap body, lever means anchored at one end on said cap body, transaxially disposed adjacent the outer surface of said cap body and operatively connected to said support means, and cam means shiftably supported from said cap body for relatively movable interposition between said lever means and` said cap body outer surface to shift the distal end of said lever means away from said cap body thereby lifting said support means, said element and said pressure valve toward said cap body against the tendency of said coiled spring.

4. A safety pressure cap comprising a cap body, support means centrally mounted in said cap body for limited axial reciprocation relative thereto, pressure valve means supported from the inner end of said support means, spring means resisting movement of said pressure valve means toward said cap body, lever means anchored at one end on said cap body, transaxially disposed adjacent the outer surface of said cap body and operatively connected to said support means, an actuator supported from said cap body for oscillation about the axial center thereof and disposed between said cap body outer surface and said lever means, and cam means moving with said actuator relative to said lever and engageable with said lever means to shift the distal end thereof away from said cap body thereby lifting said valve means toward said cap body against the tendency of said spring means.

5. A safety pressure cap comprising a cap body, support means centrally mounted in said cap body for limited axial reciprocation relative thereto, pressure valve means supported from the inner end of said support means, spring means resisting movement of said pressure valve means toward said cap body, a leaf spring anchored at one end of said cap body, transaxially disposed adjacent the outer surface of said cap body and operatively connected to said support means, and cam means shiftably supported from said cap body for interposition between said cap body outer surface and a point on said leaf spring located on the side of the axis of said cap body remote from the point of anchorage of said leaf spring to flex the distal end of said leaf spring away from said cap body thereby lifting said valve means toward said cap body against the tendency of said spring means.

6. A safety pressure cap comprising a cap body, support means centrally mounted in said cap body for limited axial reciprocation relative thereto, pressure valve means supported from the inner end of said support means, spring means resisting movement of said pressure valve means toward said cap body, a leaf spring anchored at one end on said cap body, transaxially disposed adjacent the outer surface of said cap body and operatively connected to said support means, an actuator supported from said cap body for oscillation about the axial center thereof and disposed between said cap body outer surface and said leaf spring, and cam means moving with said actuator and engageable with said leaf spring at a point located on the side of the axis of said cap body remote from the point of anchorage of said leaf spring to fiex the distal end of said leaf spring away from said cap body thereby lifting said valve means toward said cap body against the tendency of said spring means.

7. A safety pressure cap comprising a cap body, support means centrally mounted in said cap body for limited axial reciprocation relative thereto, pressure valve means supported from the inner end of said support means, spring means resisting movement of said pressure valve means toward said cap body, lever means anchored at one end on said cap body, transaxially disposed adjacent the outer surface of said cap body and operatively connected to said support means, an actuator journalled for limited oscillation about the axis of said cap body and having a portion extending beyond the perimeter of said cap body, cam means moving with said actuator for engagement with said lever means, upon movement of said actuator in one direction, to shift the distal end of said lever means away from said cap body thereby lifting said valve means toward said cap body against the tendency of said spring means, said cam means and said actuator being so proportioned and designed that, at one limit of the oscillatory path of said actuator relative to said cap body, said distal lever end is at its maximum distance from said cap body and at the other limit of the oscillatory path of said actuator relative to said cap body, said distal lever end is at its minimum distance from said cap body.

8. For use with an automobile radiator iiller neck provided with a cam lip, a pressure valve seat and an overflow vent between said lip and said seat; a safety pressure cap comprising a cap body having a circular rim and provided with retainer means engageable with such a lip, support means centrally mounted in said cap body for limited axial reciprocation relative thereto, a valve member supported from said support means for limited reciprocation toward and away from said cap body, said valve member being constructed and arranged to bear on such a seat when said cap body retainer means is so engaged with such a lip, spring means interposed between said cap body and said valve member and resiliently resisting movement of said valve member toward said cap body, lever means anchored at one end on said cap body, transaxially disposed adjacent the outer surface of said cap body and operatively connected to said support means, an actuator coaxially journalled on said cap body for limited oscillation relative to said cap body, said actuator extending outwardly beyond the circular rim of said cap body, and cam means carried by said actuator and engageable with said lever means, upon movement of said actuator relative to said cap body in a direction correspending to the direction of movement of said cap body for removal thereof from such a filler neck, to shift said lever means away from said cap body thereby lifting said valve member off such a seat before the movement of said actuator entrains said cap body.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,964.214 Stannard Dec. 13, 1960 

1. A SAFETY PRESSURE CAP COMPRISING A CAP BODY, SUPPORT MEANS CENTRALLY PENETRATING SAID CAP BODY FOR LIMITED AXIAL RECIPROCATION RELATIVE THERETO, SAID SUPPORT MEANS TERMINATING AT ITS INNER END IN AN OUT-TURNED FLANGE, AN ELEMENT RECIPROCABLY EXTERNALLY SLEEVED ON SAID SUPPORT MEANS FOR RECIPROCATION RELATIVE THERETO TOWARD AND AWAY FROM SAID CAP BODY AND HAVING A PORTION DISPOSED BETWEEN SAID CAP BODY AND SAID FLANGE AND ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID FLANGE TO LIMIT MOVEMENT OF SAID ELEMENT RELATIVE TO SAID SUPPORT MEANS AWAY FROM SAID CAP BODY, A COILED SPRING CONFINED BETWEEN SAID ELEMENT AND SAID CAP BODY AND RESISTING MOVEMENT OF SAID ELEMENT TOWARD SAID CAP BODY, A PRESSURE VALVE CARRIED BY SAID ELEMENT AND FACING AWAY FORM SAID CAP BODY, AXIALLY ROTATABLE CAM MEANS MOUNTED ON THE OUTER SURFACE OF SAID CAP BODY AND OPERATIVELY CONNECTED WITH SAID SUPPORT MEANS TO SHIFT SAID SUPPORT MEANS TOWARD SAID CAP BODY UPON ROTATION OF SAID CAM MEANS THEREBY LIFTING SAID ELEMENT AND SAID PRESSURE VALVE TOWARD SAID CAP BODY. 